4-year-old US boy finds gun under couch, kills himself with it

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A 4-year-old Georgia boy found a gun hidden inside his house and shot himself in the head with it, according to a newly released sheriff's report.

Justin Foss Jr. was pronounced dead Saturday morning after the shooting at his Augusta residence, Richmond County Chief Deputy Coroner Kenneth Boose Sr. said.

The boy's father, Justin Foss Sr., 27, was booked into jail Saturday on a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to jail records.

Justin's parents told an officer that their son "found one of their guns under the couch where they hid it and shot himself in the head," the sheriff's report states.

Jail records do not indicate whether the father has a lawyer who could be reached for comment.

Data compiled by The Associated Press and the USA TODAY Network in 2016 found that a child was shot to death every other day somewhere in the United States, on average.

Deaths and injuries spiked for children under 5, and were more prevalent in Southern states, the research shows. Georgia, Alabama,